Dead is the New Alive
by ShinigamiMailJeevas
Summary: It started off like a rash. Itchy. Sore. Red. It even spread like one. Taking over, consuming, and destroying any living tissue. And once it starts, not even death can stop it. MelloMatt, Swearing…
1. Part 1: Unleashed

**Summary**: It started off like a rash. Itchy. Sore. Red. It even spread like one. Taking over, consuming, and destroying any living tissue. And once it starts, not even death can stop it. MelloMatt, Swearing…

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Death Note (or zombies… but everyone uses them so w/e)

**Suggested Listening**: Dead is the New Alive (Saw IV remix) **by** Emilie Autumn**;** Uprising **by** Muse**;** Blood on My Hands **by** The Used

**Part 1**: _Unleashed _

_**-Alive- **_

Mello woke up to the sound of screaming. He groaned and rolled over. Matt was playing his damn games again, or watching those cheesy black and white horror flicks. Either way, it was _too damn early_.

There was a sharp intake of breath and a woman screamed. "Oh god! No, Charles please don't do this!" Mello took his pillow and forced it over his head. He would either fall back asleep or smother himself. Either way he wouldn't have to get up.

"Mello, you need to see this." Matt called. Blue eyes opened and the blonde sat up and glanced at the clock. It was only seven am! No wonder he was so fucking tired.

"Matt I got home three hours ago, leave me the fuck alone!" he shouted irritably and flopped back on to the bed. The screaming suddenly stopped and Mello wasn't sure why that bothered him.

"Mello! Come here now." Mello was up and out of bed in only seconds. Matt's voice was off.

There was actual _fear _in his voice, something Matt should never have. And not while they were home.

"Alright Matt what- the _fuck_!?" Mello stared across the small balcony to the apartment across from them. A woman lay on the balcony floor covered in blood, her arm dangling over the edge. A man stood above her, yellow eyed and pale faced, with strips of flesh dangling from his teeth.

"Mello, get your gun."

Mello didn't usually take orders, but he wasn't thinking of that as he practically ran back inside and grabbed his gun off his dresser and headed back to Matt. Matt had backed up considerably and was nearly pressed against the brick siding.

"Shoot it, the fucking thing is trying to get over here." Matt hissed. In Mello's eyes, that was a major problem. There was hardly a six foot jump from railing to railing. The 'man' snarled and ran foreword.

_Bang._

He instantly fell to the ground, a bullet right between the eyes. "What the hell is going on Matt?"

"I thought it was all bullshit. There have been reports on Sakura TV the past few days, about people suddenly attacking other people and eating their flesh. I thought it was... holy fuck I thought it was fake." Matt had one cigarette perched between his lips and another one lit in his hand.

"Matt-"

"Mello, the people who were attacked all died."

Mello's eyes widened slightly at that. "Was it from the attacks themselves?" Matt shook his head and Mello began to get an odd twisty feeling in his stomach, like live worms were wiggling around.

"Look." Matt's eyes were glued in front of him, at the other balcony. Mello turned and was met with the sight of the woman as she struggled to her feet. But there was a problem with the sight. Her neck was ripped open and too much blood covered her clothing for her to still be alive.

She sniffed the air and turned to face them. Her eyes were the same sickly yellow.

Mello didn't hesitate to shoot. The gunfire echoed in the early morning and nothing else made a sound. Not even their other neighbors. The ones who liked quiet. Mello had a feeling they would be needing more bullets.

"And all the dead victims got back up and attacked others." Matt's voice was hushed, strained.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me." he snarled. Matt turned to look at him. "You're saying... you're saying we are now suddenly living in a zombie movie? I don't fucking believe it."

Matt sighed and took his cigarette with him as he moved inside, though Mello didn't comment on it for once. He carefully closed the balcony door and locked it. It wouldn't really stop anything should it want to come inside, but it might buy them just the right amount of time to get away or shoot it.

"Look at this." Matt waved him over to the television as he turned it on.

"_This may very well be our last broadcast… the things… they are everywhere. We have barricaded ourselves in the station, but I fear they will break in at any moment. I will do my best to continually report the news until the end." the woman on screen paused for a moment, and shuffled the papers in front of her._

"_Tokyo has been declared a quarantined zone and no one is allowed in or out of it any more at this time. There has also been no contact from the areas surrounding Tokyo for the last twenty-four hours. As such, I would suggest that if you were headed that way… you change your plans accordingly."_

Mello listened as she continued on like that for a few more minutes, reporting the quarantined districts and the supposedly safe havens.

"Do they do this broadcast everyday?" Mello asked, eyes still on the screen, still listening.

"A few times a day. This is actually the second one for today…" Matt had looked away from the screen, eyes drifting to the balcony, though it was obvious he still listened to the broadcast. Smoke trailed lazily from the stick currently stuck to the side of Matt's mouth.

Mello wrinkled his nose at the smell, but there was no way he was about to make Matt go outside to smoke it. "It was probably Kira." Mello said absently.

"Doubtful. I don't think Kira would want to be eaten by zombies." Matt replied, not quite calmly, but not exactly freaked out.

"What I meant was-"

A loud bang saw both of them jump, adrenaline flooding their veins. It happened again and they realized it was coming from the television. The anchor woman had closed her eyes momentarily and left the papers to her side.

"_It is suggested that if you are in or near a quarantined area that you stay in your house, apartment or place of sleep and board yourself in. And make sure to have weapons handy and ready for use." Another bang and the sound of breaking glass echoed throughout the studio._

_The woman's eyes widened and she stood up from her chair swiftly. Snarling and growling sounds started as well as shouts from other people, probably the few crew members that remained._

_The woman took off her headset and tossed it at something off screen and earned a pained howl. She backed up as far as she could as the shadows crept closer_.

They knew they should look away, they knew what was going to happen, but like in all good disasters, their eyes were fixed. They couldn't tear their eyes away even as the undead descended upon the woman, broken teeth and the rotting flesh that grabbed at her.

_She screamed and blood gushed from her neck as teeth greedily tore away skin and tissue. Others chewed hungrily at her fingers, stripping the flesh from bone that left her hand half skeletal._

_Her screams had only lasted a few seconds before a sick gurgling sound took over and blood frothed from her mouth like a twisted water fountain. One of her arms was ripped loose, muscle dripped with blood, before the undead mass descended upon it. All the while the camera's kept rolling._

Matt pulled the cigarette from his mouth just in time to hunch over and vomit violently.

"That was… we should probably switch the channel." Mello mumbled quietly and fumbled with the remote. His fingers slipped and the station skipped up two channels up. The scene was old footage, apparently on a loop as stated by the message that scrolled on the bottom.

The streets were filled with people running and yelling, the camera having been tipped to the side with a bloody hand just inside of the view, and every once and a while an undead person would streak by and tackle one of the fleeing masses.

"Why the hell haven't the other channels been reporting this until now?" Mello whispered. The entire world had turned to shit and no one seemed to know about it. There had been no announcements about it on the radio, nothing on the main internet sites. No real warnings…

Hell he'd still gone to _work_ the passed few days no one had spoken about it, looked concerned or anything, life had gone on as usual. And now… now things were different. There would be no more Kira research while this was going on, Mello knew that much.

Not even Kira could top this. If anything, maybe the bastard would become a victim of this freakish event.

Matt was standing now, shakily so, and moved to the kitchen, for what Mello presumed was cleaning supplies. Matt was never one to mind horror movies, but it was much different when you saw it in person, and knew it was real.

Mello was the mafia boss, not Matt. Sure, Matt had seen his fair share of things, but nothing like the gore that plagued the channels now. Nothing like what had been happening right outside their window…

Mello didn't blame him for getting sick, not at all. Better to do it now, while they were still relatively safe than later on when something was happening. Because as much as Mello wanted to stay in the apartment, they needed to head out.

They hardly had food to begin with, and if they were going to barricade themselves in there, or even keep on the move, provisions were desperately needed. As was more ammo. He just needed to tell that to Matt.

First though, they probably should find things to board up the balcony door with. It was a huge sheet of open glass, and who knew if there were more of those things in the other apartment.

Mello would not take the chance of them leaving the apartment only to come back with undead things having broken in. The only problem was, what did they have in their apartment that would be of use? It wasn't like they had spare plywood just lying around.

Wouldn't that have been convenient?

All they really had furniture wise was a beat up coffee table, an old couch, TV stand and a bed. Matt slept on the couch and passed out playing his games, the arrangement worked for Mello. But now it had Mello wishing they'd bought more furniture…

"Mello?"

He flinched as Matt called out to him, he was too silent for his own good; Mello's fingers had twitched instinctively towards his gun.

"We need to cover the sliding door." He didn't need Matt to actually ask his question to know what Matt wanted to know. That was why they worked well together, both of them understood each other.

"I guess we aren't going to have a coffee table anymore…" Matt sighed as he walked over to the table that stood on three legs and a pile of game cases.

"I guess not…" together they lifted the heavy table and placed it, securely, in front of the glass, but it only managed to cover the bottom half of the door.

"We can use your bedroom door, if we can nail it to the wall or something." Matt suggested, still pale faced and smoking a new cigarette.

"Why does it have to be my door?"

"We are not using the bathroom door, I'd like my privacy there, and the only alternative I can think of would be the front door." Matt said dryly. The redhead was right though, there was no other alternative.

"Fine. Lets get this done, we're going out for supplies soon, and I'd rather it be done in the daylight so I can at least see what I'm shooting at." Mello watched as the fear crept back into Matt's eyes, though he merely sighed and headed for the bedroom closet where any tools would be.

The closet door was a sliding door, and they had long since tried to pry it off and replace it only to find it impossible. Without the use of an axe, that is.

"Hey Matt, would the pantry door work?" Mello called out. The door was smaller than the bedroom one, but then again, they didn't need to cover any more than the remaining half of the open glass.

"Alright you can keep your damn door." Matt sighed as he walked passed Mello and to the smaller pantry door located in their tiny kitchen.

Mello still couldn't even really believe the situation they were in.

He had seen it on the TV, and in person… but it still seemed too fantastical. They didn't even really know much about what was going on other than the fact that there were zombies running around.

What caused it? Was it a toxin? A drug? Something in the air? Could they already be infected? What were the symptoms other than dying and reanimating?

"Matt, you work on that, I need to use the laptop." Matt mumbled something unintelligible in return and Mello knew that if he needed anything Matt would yell for him.

He sat down on the couch, computer seated in his lap, and began to search the internet. It was the best place to find out about the growing problem. However, he still didn't know if it was worldwide or just in Japan.

He began his search using phrases like 'zombies in japan' and 'dead coming back to life, japan'. At first he only got things like fan made videos, or movies but on the second page came the news reports.

After a few more tries, his irritation rising, he clicked on a public health page and grinned mirthlessly at the content. It had been set up just hours after the announcement of the undead.

"Don't want to alarm people? A little more warning would have been nice." Mello snorted at the beginning paragraph. It was mainly written to keep people from panicking, in this situation, a little panic probably would have saved a lot of people.

His eyes narrowed in concentration as he skimmed over the crap that was put in place before the useful bits of information. Apparently it was some form of a new natural mineral that got placed in dietary pills, sodas and foods that ended up causing massive damage to a persons internal system. It eventually caused death in the early cases.

The only problem was that people didn't stay dead.

After infection, assuming you weren't bitten and turned that way, it started off with rash like blobs covering random, and sometimes large, portions of the body. They would be itchy, red and even sore.

Once you had it, were infected, it was impossible to get rid of. It was a death sentence. It would start taking over and completely destroy any living tissue. There had even been cases reported where sores would appear on the victims and burst open leaving a sticky yellow substance behind.

It truly got miserable for those who were infected the 'normal' way. They died a slow death, baring suicide of course.

He exited the site, and continued his search, eventually finding a hastily made website for the people living in the infected areas. It had been made by a collage professor before his area was quarantined and anyone was allowed to post on it.

The professor hadn't logged in over three days, they were probably dead.

Everything had started off near the Kanto region of Japan, and quickly spread outwards. Not all areas were completely infected or quarantined, but there were many. There was a post from someone in Ireland who said that the infection had reached their area only hours ago, with only two reported cases of the dead rising up.

But it was proof that it had already spread beyond Japan.

Who knew how long before it took the entire world?

From the rest of the posts, it seemed that a shot to the head, or anything that would cause massive brain damage, would take the things down. Anything else would only slow them. Just like in the movies. It was rather laughable really, how much was actually fact concerning walking corpses.

"Mel I need your help in holding this!" Matt yelled. Mello scowled, he hated when Matt abbreviated his name. It wasn't even his real name…

He left the kitchen and the laptop and saw Matt struggle to hold the now detached door up to the window. Mello laughed.

"Do you want to leave sometime soon or what? I can't get this done by myself." Matt grumbled. Mello knew they needed to leave soon, so he took hold of the side that had been tilting and placed it flat against the cheap wood trim.

There was a pause before banging echoed loudly throughout the room.

"We have a hammer?" Mello asked, as he glanced over at the redhead. Matt had about four large nails situated between his lips while he pounded the fifth into the door. Matt mumbled something but it was obscured by the nails.

Mello sighed and his gaze drifted downwards for a moment, eyes locked onto pale skin that was exposed where Matt's shirt had ridden up. He quickly looked away. Now was definitely not the time for those thoughts.

Matt worked quickly, yet efficiently, and not even seven minutes later it was completely nailed in place. Mello probably could have done that himself, if he hadn't been such an epic failure at all things handyman related.

"Matt go get your gun, and make sure you have an extra clip or two." Mello watched as the redheads shoulders slumped slightly and felt a twinge of guilt. He knew Matt hated handling guns, much less having to fire them, but it was more then necessary in that situation.

Mello still had his own gun stuffed into the front of his leathers, but went into the bedroom anyway. He only had six rounds left, and he wanted more than that for going outside. And if everything went well, they would have more ammo by the end of it.

He walked passed Matt, who was messing with a false bottom in his dresser, and went to the bedside table. Taped underneath was another clip, just one, and at this point Mello cursed himself for not having bought more.

"How many extra clips do you have?" he called to Matt, as soon as he heard the gun being moved around.

"Just two. I think I have half a clip in there too." Matt said thoughtfully as he started to check. Mello sighed, they didn't have much to work with.

"We'll need to be careful with the ammo. Choose your shots carefully."

"Carefully? I can't even remember the last time I used this…" Matt snorted.

Mello rubbed at his eyes but didn't comment. He was lucky Matt even knew how to handle a gun. Instead of complaining, he searched further into the closet and pulled out two ratty looking backpacks, one had been his from Whammys and the other had been new until the explosion.

"Matt gather anything you think you might need in case we don't come back here, not too much since we need room for supplies." Mello waited for the inevitable shouting match that would occur but when Matt stayed silent he glanced over.

Matt's fingers had tightened around the handle of the gun and his expression was closed off. "Matt?" Mello asked tentatively. Matt shook his head slowly.

"You know I'd rather stay here, but if you think we need to move on then I figure you'd know better than I would." Matt placed the safety on and stuffed the gun into his back pocket for the time being and walked out of the room, most likely to grab whatever electronics that would fit into the backpack.

Mello watched the empty space for a few more seconds before he grabbed a spare change of clothing, for the both of them as Matt would probably just bring his games if he could, and stuffed it into his backpack.

They would have to bring the laptop as well, and for that Mello stuffed the battery charger in as well.

Mello didn't worry about any case notes on Kira, he doubted they'd need them anytime soon, or if at all, anymore. He wasn't even sure how long the internet or cell phone towers would hold.

The world was falling apart at the seams and all they could do was sit back and watch.

"Are you ready?" he called into the apartment as he snatched up the backpack and threw the strap over his shoulder. There was a muffled answer but he hadn't caught what it was.

Matt was halfway dangled over the side of the couch when he spotted him, as he dug into the cushions for who knows what. "Found it!" there was a small sigh of relief and Matt righted himself while he pulled a long black cord from the confines of the couch.

"It's for my PSP. I'm ready now." Matt stated. Mello shook his head in slight amusement and made sure he had his apartment key; if they did come back they would need to get in, as he sure as hell wasn't going to leave it unlocked.

Matt had his backpack fitted over his puffed up deer skin vest, cigarette in mouth, and gun in his back pocket. It was truly an odd sight to behold. He turned to Mello, and oddly twisted smile on his face.

"I always liked the shooting games." Matt said with a shrug, though Mello knew better than to think the redhead wasn't taking the situation seriously.

"Let's hope you're as good a shot in reality as you are with those pixels." Mello motioned for Matt to open the door, and the redhead did so with great reluctance.

The door creaked open ominously though there was no movement, and no sounds, from the other side. Matt stepped into the hallway, looked both ways, as one might on a sidewalk, and sighed a little.

Mello, upon exiting the apartment, shut and locked the door. The deadbolt, as it slid into place, seemed to echo loudly in the silence. Without a spoken word the pair moved to the stairs, the building being so old it didn't even have an elevator, though they wouldn't have used it.

Who knew how long the electricity might hold?

The stairs were narrow and clear, with the exception of the usual small cluttered items like discarded papers and coffee cups. No blood was always a good sign.

Mello pulled out his gun, the safety off, and pulled the heavily rusted bottom doors open. The streets, which were usually booming at that time of day, were silent. The roads were jammed with crashed cars, burned out and singed wrecks; some still smoldered.

Garbage was strewn every which way, not one piece of walkway or asphalt left untouched; doors to apartments were left wide open, some dangled precariously from broken hinges with shattered glass and torn out metal bars littered nearby.

Mello took a step further out of their building and waited for Matt to follow, before he secured the door, it was no use coming back if they made it easy for those things to get inside to wait for them.

"Mello." Matt said quietly. He looked over to Matt, and where he gestured, and noted the spatters of blood that coated the brick walls. They hadn't been there the day before. He couldn't right fully pin a time on it, as it had been dark when he had arrived home, so he wouldn't have been able to see it.

But another question arose. How could neither of them have heard all of that commotion?

It stood to reason that Matt had probably had his headphones on until he went to sleep and Mello had been, pardon the pun, dead to the world the moment his head had touched the pillow. But surely they would have heard something…?

"Let's go." Mello whispered, though he wasn't sure why, as there was no sign of life anywhere near them. Or the undead for that matter.

But there really wasn't time to think on those things at the moment, daylight was burning quickly and he wanted to be somewhere relatively safe before dusk, if not at the apartment.

Matt didn't ask where they were headed, and for that Mello was thankful. There was a gas station about a block from their apartment, and three blocks from that was the start of small shops and a grocery mart.

A few miles from that was the better part of the city, with the malls and things of the like, but they definitely couldn't go there on foot, but Mello didn't want to chance using his motorcycle unless absolutely necessary. He only had about a half tank of gas and one of the tires was nearly flat.

And the garage… well it wasn't well lit. And that would make it too dangerous to change a tire until they had better supplies, and a better grasp of just how much shit they were in.

They didn't run to the gas station, but they did walk at a brusque pace.

The closer they got to the gas station, the more blood covered things. Windshields were smashed, broken into, and dripped with blood. Car doors that weren't damaged were wide open, soft clicking of the car that alerted that the door had yet to be closed.

The road leading out of the gas station was clogged with the wrecks of cars, crushed and piled up onto one another in a large crash. Body parts hung precariously out from under crushed hunks of metal; blood slithering down the mangled lumps of flesh.

Mello winced and looked over to the silent redhead, and found him with his face drained of color, but otherwise fine. It was much different than Matt's video games, of that Mello was sure.

Mello didn't say anything and instead carefully picked his way around the debris, trusting that Matt would follow. There was no sound anywhere, and it had Mello on edge. There should have been people around, the city was full of millions, and yet no one was present save for the two of them.

Matt flinched as the bell above the door rang, both of them gave pause but still everything was silent. Mello took a few more hesitant steps inside before he turned to push Matt back out the door.

"Mello what-"

"Stay here and keep a look out." Mello stated, and when Matt gave him that look of defiance he sighed. "Please?" he added. Matt hesitated for a moment before he nodded. It was rare for him to ask for something, and just as rare to plead.

But Matt wouldn't have done too well, or so Mello thought, at the sight that would have greeted him. One of the employees was lying half eaten and covered in a yellowish, pus like, goo.

Now Mello knew why there had been such a large accident; they had been trying to escape rather than just being overly panicked.

Some of the shelves were knocked over, and Mello wouldn't touch anything that was on the floor, in a can or not. He spied a small rack, one of those individual stands, with some cheap plastic flashlights sitting in it.

He quickly unpackaged three of them, the extra in case one broke, and searched for the batteries to go with them. That case had been knocked over, but Mello decided that since it wouldn't be getting eaten, it would be alright, and it was far from the corpse and its fluids.

There wasn't much food wise there, but most of the drinks were fine. He grabbed a few bottles of water and placed them in the backpack. On the way back, if they came back, they would have to grab more.

However, since they needed to keep going, it would be stupid to carry so much when they didn't have to.

As an afterthought, he took a few more packages of batteries and left the gas station. "We need to keep going, there isn't much in here and we need to get to the gun shop and see if anything is left."

Matt nodded and followed.

The further up the streets they got, the more crashes there were. Though there were a lot more scooters and bikes in the mix now, as cars weren't all that practical in the crowded areas. He noticed as Matt tried to keep his eyes from straying, even though he couldn't see the redhead's eyes, as his head would jerk away from the more frequently strewn about bodies and lost appendages.

Mello didn't slow his pace, as he knew that it would only allow Matt's eyes to finally lock onto something.

When they reached the small shops, still in the shadier part of town, most of the doors were open, glass shattered, or had bloody handprints on the glass. It was like the world had gone to hell in one night, and spared no one and nothing.

Guns before food, Mello headed towards the gun shop, because if they couldn't protect themselves then all the food in the world wouldn't help them.

Mello walked straight passed the display case, as it was smashed in, and headed for the back of the store. Most people would only check the display, if they were panicked, and ignore the fact that most places had more stocked in the back.

Though he was wary of the darker and shadowed places where the lights flickered or it was naturally faded. Something crashed to the floor behind him and his gun was out and pointed before anything could be said.

"Easy Mels, I just tripped over… oh." Matt paused as he looked at what had nearly caused him to meet with the floor. Someone's leg. Someone's leg that wasn't attached to anything. His hand went to his mouth and he gagged, but didn't throw up that time.

He looked up as Mello took hold of his arm and pulled him away, he didn't protest as the treatment was gentle and he hadn't really wanted to stay there.

The employee only area was still locked so Mello took that as a good sign and kicked the door in. He quickly flicked the light switch and stared at the half turned over shelves, though there was no blood anywhere.

It looked like someone had taken a few things with them before they locked up and left.

Mello decided to begin his search of the shelves that were still intact; he hoped that what they needed wasn't scattered across the floor. He got to the end of the shelf and swore. The connecting shelf, which had been tipped on its side and had crashed into the adjacent one, was the one he needed.

"So, the floor?" Matt commented, though his eyes were still locked on the outside portions of the shop.

"Looks fucking like it." Mello swore under his breath. He made sure his guns safety was on before he dropped his pack to the floor and crouched down; his fingers quickly sifted through the mess on the floor.

Matt joined him after he'd shut the storage door. It might not protect them from anything, but it would give them the chance to prepare.

"Damn it, where are they…" Mello kept finding the ones for a different model, whose ammo was a size too large for what they had. Mello always made sure that if he changed weapons that Matt had the same as him, as it saved time in getting the bullets.

"Mello, I found a box, it's pretty much intact." Matt called from a little further away. Perhaps the boxes had been knocked further over than he'd thought. And sure enough, when Mello joined Matt, more boxes popped up, though some were half empty or only had a few bullets left.

"Pick up as much as you can find. But I'd say we only have a few minutes to do so, I want to get food too." Mello said while he pulled out his gun and yanked the clip out. He added some of the new bullets to the clip until it was full and jammed it back inside the gun.

He left Matt to it, and went in search of empty clips, as they usually sold them along with the boxes of ammo. But he found none. He swore but froze when the handle of the door jiggled a little.

His gun came back out, safety off, and was pointed at the door. A soft growl was heard and Mello wasted no time in shooting a bullet through the door. There was a surprised groan and a thud, before all movement stopped.

Matt had started at the seemingly random gunfire, thought he knew Mello wouldn't fire off rounds just for the hell of it. His hands shook slightly, adrenaline having started to flow through his system, but he continued to pick up the tiny bullets and shove them into the backpack; he no longer cared about getting them into the boxes.

They had a good amount of ammo now, as the bottom of his backpack was filled with four boxes and numerous free ones, with however many more Mello had in his own. Though who knew how many of those things were prowling around...

"Matt, its time to go." Mello's voice was cold, and his eyes were trained on the door and the hole in it. Mello yanked open the door, gun at the ready, and they were met with air. The bloodied body lying on the floor, missing a few fingers and half of its face, was still.

Mello had got it through the head.

There was no need for talking, as they both understood where they needed to go next, and it would also attract unwanted attention. Mello took one last glance at the thing on the ground, definitely unwanted.

The sun was already high in the sky, which meant it was noon or sometime after it. Mello knew they had wasted too much time at the apartment, though it was mainly his fault. But their search for food would have to be quick.

And Matt would not like the solution.

The parking lot of the grocery mart was much the same as on the roads, though there were less crashes and more cars hastily pulled up into the slots. It made Mello wearier. For that meant people had gone in, and not come out.

They would be in deep trouble if all the food was gone as well. Though he also knew it was stupid to think that there would be much left either...

"Matt." he said quietly, about fifty feet from the entrance. Matt turned to him, lips turned to a frown.

Matt knew that tone of voice. It was when Mello usually asked him to do something he was uncomfortable with, or something that was completely _insane_.

"We need to split up to cover more ground while in here. Choose canned things if possible, and grab any medicine you think we might need if you come across it." Mello forced the words to leave his lips, and kept his eyes scanning the area around them rather than on Matt.

Matt felt his heart quicken, more so than ever, at the thought of going into that on his own. Of _Mello_ being on his own. He knew it was the best idea, but logically speaking, in all those horror movies he'd seen, _nothing_ good happened to the ones who split up.

"Be careful." he whispered. It was all he could do. He could do nothing to sway Mello's decision, and even if he had, and things somehow went wrong, Mello would regret his decision to the end.

"You too. Here, use it only if you need it, I don't want to attract more attention if possible." Mello said and handed Matt a flashlight. Mello saw that most of the lights were on in the place, but one could never been too careful.

Matt nodded and stuffed the flashlight into his back pocket, though the top third hung out, being too bulky to fit. They entered through the shattered glass doors and Mello went left, Matt right.

Mello was about passed the cash registers when he spotted plastic bags, and while it would mean more for them to carry, it meant more food they could have. Maybe a little junk food so they didn't go insane over the canned stuff.

Mello bypassed all the fruits and vegetables, as those would be the first to be contaminated, especially with everyone in a frenzy. And even the meats. Though he was sure they still had some chicken in the freezer...

The place was silent, and Mello didn't like it. When things were silent it meant things were lurking. There were bloody handprints, drag marks and what looked like fingers on the tiled floor.

But no bodies.

And that was what had Mello concerned.

He walked down the isle furthest from the main entrance, mainly so that he could work his way back to Matt rather than away from him. It was filled with organic foods, cereals, snacks, sodas, as well as the discounted or discontinued items.

Things were strewn on the floor, foods crushed and scattered but there _were_ things left on the shelves. Mello smirked as he spotted organic chocolate, it seemed that was not on peoples panicked to buy list.

He tossed aside the first bar, as it had been closest to the front and then emptied the entire collection into a plastic bag. He would use the backpack for cans. There was also bottled water, supposedly purified, that he placed into the backpack, and coffee that he added to the bag.

He didn't care if it was organic or not, it was coffee.

Most other things in the isle were either destroyed or non edible in his opinion, so he turned the corner. His boots stepped on broken glass and he cursed the loud crunching sounds they made.

He became more alert as the employees only section, or the stocking rooms, were to his left. And the doors were open but no lights were on that left only a pit of blackness for him to stare into. He didn't like it one bit, so he ignored the foods that were near that area, some in the cold cases and others like butter in the open refrigerated area.

The next isle had things like pickles, canned fruits, juice mixes and tea, among other things. He immediately went for the fruit and began to stack things into the backpack that they would eat. They would undoubtedly have to make another run, probably the next day, or maybe when they ran out.

Though sooner was probably better.

He added a few boxes of tea to the plastic bag before he tied it off and placed it inside another bag, and got a new one ready. He deemed the rest of the things in the isle useless, at least for that trip, and moved on.

Mello grinned as he looked further down the isle. Soup. Canned items were good during the end of the world. There was also those instant ramen cups and things like rice and mashed potatoes and oddly, baking utensils.

He added ramen to the plastic bag, filling one completely, and half of another one, and grabbed two sealed jars of rice. He ignored the bags as they had been torn open in peoples haste to grab them, and he didn't trust them to begin with.

He wrinkled his nose at the blood mixed with the rice and moved on.

The floor was covered in yellow further down, and chunks of chicken and vegetables sat scattered around. Broken cans of soup matted the floor, though there was still enough left to be picky about.

He filled the backpack with the heartier soups that were left, until there was no room left, except maybe for a few very slim items, and zipped it up. He looked up, eyes narrowed, as a can of soup rolled down the isle.

He hadn't been over there...

Mello pulled his gun free and made sure the safety was off, and left the backpack and bags on a clean part of the floor. He quietly walked to the end of the isle, looked both ways, and moved out passed the isle towards the open refrigeration.

There was nothing in either direction.

Mello was willing to chalk it up to the idiots who knocked the things to the ground before hand, though he wasn't about to drop his guard. He clicked the safety back on after another moment and turned around only to come face to face with an undead.

It snarled and lunged at him.

"Fuck!" he gasped and wacked it with his weapon, not having the time to do anything else. He sidestepped it as it reached out to him but felt his weight shift and the ground come crashing upwards to meet him.

He fell hard onto the tile and into the spilled soup which had caused him to slip, and the gun was flung away from him.

The woman with no face crawled hungrily towards him, movements in almost a scuttle, crab like and grotesque.

Mello rolled to the side, its jaws snapped at him and fingers pressed into his arm harshly, yet not enough to break the skin. His breaths came in gasps and he grunted as he tried to fend the creature off.

It crawled atop him, broken teeth and tongue inching foreword, and only stopped by his arms crossed under its neck. Fingers pressed harder into his upper arm, digging into the muscle painfully.

His left arm gave out at that crucial moment and he prepared himself for the inevitable bite that would seal his fate. But it never came.

_Bang_

Blood and gore spattered across his face, arms and upper body. His eyes slid open in shock as something pulled the corpse off him.

"D-did it bite you?" Matt's voice quaked but Mello couldn't quite find his voice; he shook his head and allowed the redhead to pull him from the floor.

"I heard you swear and was already on my way over when I heard the crash..." Matt handed Mello his gun, which was sticky with soup, and took a deep breath.

"We should hurry..." Mello managed to whisper. It was unspoken now, that despite the darkening afternoon sky, they would stay together from then on. Matt had managed to fill his backpack, and after taking a few of the plastic bags, filled them with cigarettes that were left, and the remaining chocolate and bottled waters.

They would have to make another trip. But definitely not that day. Not at all.

_**-Alive-**_

**AN: **K' this was originally supposed to be a oneshot, but as it passed the 5,000 word mark I knew that wasn't going to happen. So think of this as a mini series. But it will only be one more chapter. Maybe two, depending on how long it gets....

So thoughts?

Review?


	2. Part 2: Lunacy

**Summary**: It starts off like a rash. Itchy. Sore. Red. It even spreads like one. Taking over, consuming, and destroying any living tissue. And once it starts, not even death can stop it.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Death Note (or zombies… but everyone uses them so w/e)

**AN:** Yeah….. I have nothing to say about this being so late (as the entire fic was completed by the time I posted part 1…heh) but I will use he holiday excuse…

And sorry if parts of this feel rushed, but it was originally a oneshot that I broke up to make editing easier… but I hope you like. Oh.. and there is a reason its sort of in the T section… And really listen to those songs…

**Suggested Listening**: Dead is the New Alive (Saw IV remix) **by** Emilie Autumn**;** Uprising **by** Muse; Built For Sin **by **Framing Hanley (for one scene specifically...)

**Part 2: **_Lunacy_

_**-Alive- **_

It was very late afternoon, more and more shadows appearing and taking over, by the time they finally made it up the stairs of their apartment.

Matt stood in the doorway as Mello checked the apartment once over, making sure nothing had gotten in while they had been gone.

"Come on inside." Matt, along with his own set of bags, quickly walked inside and Mello closed and locked the door behind him, though both of them would have liked more than a deadbolt and chain lock to protect them.

"I'm taking a shower." Mello said stiffly. Matt said nothing as he watched the blonde walk off to the bathroom and shut the door behind himself. He doubted there was anything he could say.

Mello carefully pealed off his soiled clothing, which was getting burned or just thrown out, at his nearest convenience, he would never wear them again even when cleaned.

He turned the water onto high, so that it was hot, almost burning, and stepped inside. He kept his mouth and eyes closed as he scrubbed at his face and hair, and cringed at the clumps of _stuff_ that came away, things he didn't want to name.

He grabbed blindly for the soap and ran it all across his body, roughly, trying to scrub away the dirt and grime that had settled itself on him. He didn't know how long he'd been in there but the room had steamed up.

He picked up, or attempted to, the shampoo bottle only to realize his hands were shaking. _Still_ shaking. He sucked in a breath. He'd been far closer to death than he would have liked, far closer than Kira had ever managed, even closer than when he'd blown the hideout sky-high.

He tensed as the bathroom door opened and Matt walked in, naked except for his boxers.

Blood was smeared across his neck and the side of his face but the rest of him was left untouched, having been protected from the projectile brains by his clothing.

Mello was mostly clean now, though he could still feel bits off a gooey substance matted into his hair. It was disgusting. And it reminded him all too well of the events that led to it being there.

"I really need to get this stuff off… so you're going to have to deal with both of us in there." Matt's voice was flat and not even his eyes gave away his thoughts when the redhead pulled his goggles free, tossing them into the sink. They clattered, things seeping from the lenses to dirty the sink, as they landed.

"That's fine. I… I need help washing my hair anyway…" Mello managed to mumble, though it was still loud enough for Matt to hear.

Matt nodded, his boxers slipping to the floor, and he joined Mello under the hot spray of water. Mello moved flat against the wall and allowed Matt to get directly under the water, blood swirling down the drain as the water touched his skin.

It was only then, as Mello was finally close enough to Matt, that he noticed just how much darker his hair was. Just how much _blood_ covered it.

"Duck your head." He said softly. Matt deftly listened to him and Mello worked his fingers into the tangled mess. More blood ran into the water, and Mello would have worried had it been Matt's own.

When the water had run clean he added a liberal amount of shampoo to the soggy mess and his lips twitched at the small sigh that Matt released. His fingers continued on like that for long after even the conditioner had rinsed free. It seemed to be soothing to the redhead, and after the rather disastrous afternoon Mello felt he deserved it.

It might not have been human any longer, but Matt had been forced to kill, had to fire a _gun_, it would still be bothering him. And if Mello let himself admit it… it bothered him too. The entire situation bothered him.

"You can stop now Mello." Matt's drowsy voice said as he pulled away. He touched Mello's arm and motioned to the water so that Mello moved under it. Mello closed his eyes and leaned foreword so that Matt had access to his hair.

He heard Matt's groan of disgust and opened his eyes to see a blackish glob fall to the floor and slide to the drain. He took a deep breath and didn't bother to look anymore; he should have kept his eyes shut to begin with.

Matt didn't wash his hair nearly as long as he'd done to the redheads, mainly because Mello had been in the shower far longer and it hardly needed much attention, other than the back of it.

Mello straightened up and turned around as Matt began to lather himself with soap. Mello hated the silence that hung between them, but didn't know what could be said to get rid of it. That afternoon, one or even both of them, could have died. He felt his chest tighten and had to look away from Matt's questioning gaze. Had Matt died… Mello wasn't sure what he would have done.

He carefully moved out of the way again so Matt could rinse himself, and after a moments hesitation, moved to slip out of the shower.

He flinched at the hand that grabbed his arm, though he knew it was Matt… but the feeling of the undead grabbing him was still to real, too fresh, in his mind to forget.

"Sorry… I just…" Matt trailed off, unable to finish. But Mello understood. He didn't want to be left alone. Mello cracked a smile. Everything Kira had done hadn't been able to put a dent in either of them, and all it took was the world falling to pieces and being laid waste by reanimated corpses for them to start to lose it.

Forget the killing notebook, zombies topped that by a mile.

He moved from the exit and motioned for Matt to continue, that he wouldn't leave. Matt gave him a weak, but appreciative, smile. With nothing to distract him any more, Mello's eyes wandered down the redheads' lean form, across and down his back to passed the curve of his but and his long legs.

He really would have lost if Matt had died…

He pulled his gaze free as Matt turned to him, a calm, but unsettled look had seemed to have settled in his green eyes, and Mello hated that it was his fault. Hated the damn undead that had caused _everything_ to go to shit.

Mello didn't let himself think as he stepped foreword, pulling Matt into a hug. It wasn't the sort of things friends would normally be comfortable with, but Mello knew the situation was anything but normal.

He was surprised however, as Matt's arms slipped around his waist and gripped him tightly. Matt's lips hovered just beside his ear and he shivered at the warm breaths. Mello could feel the others heart beating along with his own, and felt the days worry slip away.

It was calming to him, a reassurance that everything was alright with the one he cared for, even if said person didn't know...

Mello was even more surprised however, as a pair of lips brushed against his own. But they only touched for a moment, quick, and they seemed to almost ask 'is this ok?'

He didn't let Matt pull away from him, tugging him closer and kissing him, trying to reassure the younger male.

Their kisses became fevered, and their hands wandered.

Matt tugged Mello back under the spray, just long enough to turn the water off, which left them to shiver in the absence of the warmth.

It was a silent consensus, as they stepped from the shower, lips still locked, that they head to the bedroom.

Their actions were desperate, the touches no longer hesitant but purposeful, aiming to feel every each of the others body. Matt was pushed onto the bed but said nothing even as Mello straddled his hips, wet hair dripping cold drops onto Matt's heated body.

No words needed to be spoken, everything was felt in a touch or a kiss, sentences played out with just a glance.

Long legs wrapped around Mello as he pushed in, seeking an even greater warmth than the mouth he was locked to could provide.

They kept their moans almost silent, breaths coming in gasps, and their motions gentle.

Mello had wanted the redhead for so long and with the Kira case, had never even dreamed of getting him, never thought Matt might want him too.

But he saw the strong emotions in those impossibly green eyes, and wondered why he'd never noticed. He leaned foreword, dropping his elbows to either side of the redheads face and stared at him.

Sweat collected on their bodies, their movements becoming easier, sloppier. One final kiss, a silent promise to never leave the other, and they collapsed together, completely and utterly spent.

Mello rested his forehead against Matt's but kept his gaze on the half lidded green eyes. Matt smiled up at him, arms curling around him even as his legs slipped back to the bed.

This was all either of them needed, just to be with each other.

Matt flinched when the screams started again, night having risen as they showered the gore from their forms.

Mello gave Matt a quick kiss before he left the bedroom to retrieve his gun. It was nothing more than a quick bit of reassurance for the two of them, something to ease their nerves just enough for them to rest.

The apartment was dark, save for the tiny kitchen light, and Mello left it that way. It was better to keep things dark unless they needed the light. He quickly made his way back to the bed and after he placed the gun on the bedside table, and settled down beside Matt.

The screams had grown louder, though a different set appeared beside the bestial ones. Someone was being hunted. Matt buried his face in the crook of Mello's neck and the blonde could do nothing more than hold him.

It could have been them out there...

But it wasn't, and that was what Mello held onto.

Sometime, maybe minutes maybe hours, later, the screams stopped and everything was left in silence. It was enough to let them drift off, exhausted, but feeling minutely safe in their apartment.

It wasn't much, but they had survived their first real day of hell.

.

.

Nearly a week later, having had no real problems with the undead other than the nightly screams of those that hunted, Mello was once again on the laptop searching for anything that might be helpful.

But there was nothing.

It was only more of the same. It had spread to America, Great Brittan, Mexico, and numerous other places. It seemed it was like the flu; once it began to spread there was no stopping it.

There had been a link only a few days before, at the bottom of one of the bloggers posts. They had stated that they had been infected, but not from a bite. So they had taken pictures and were posting what happened, so that there was a record of what the symptoms looked like, rather than just going off the information on the health department websites.

Mello honestly could say he felt bad for that person, a teen who lived in Alaska, for the pictures looked more and more painful as the days went on. The picture from that day, though Mello didn't know why he kept clicking on them, had the rash as more of an open sore, though it was stated that it didn't happen in all cases.

A yellow-ish tone had begun to spread across the rash infected areas along with small pockets of pus. It truly was a gruesome way to go. Mello felt his own skin crawl having just looked at it.

He heard Matt sigh from a few feet away and looked up. It appeared that more and more stations were on a loop cycle or just plain off air by then. Not even CNN had been spared. It seemed that for the most part, everyone truly was on their own.

Mello wondered if anyone in those governments were still alive. It would almost be fitting if they weren't, as it was probably their fault things got so bad so quick, as they tended to not want to panic people when things really were turning to shit.

"Anything good on your end?" Matt asked as he lit a cigarette. Mello hated the stench of those things, as it also made the air stale smelling after a while, but Matt only smoked them every once and a while as he had taken to rationing himself; so Mello would deal with it.

The only good thing so far about the damn situation was that Matt had to cut back on his cancer sticks, which was definitely a healthy thing…

"Not unless you count it spreading to more countries a good thing." Mello commented dryly. Matt snorted.

"Well, on the bright side... soon everyone will be stuck in hell with us." Matt shrugged, taking a drag, and leaned back against the couch. Mello shook his head, Matt always got a bit more morbid with his sarcasm after the bad news...

Mello stood up, stretched, and sauntered over to Matt who he knew was watching him. He stole a quick kiss, after Matt had removed the cigarette, and danced away from Matt's grip.

"What do you want for lunch? The power is still on so we need to eat the boxed things while we can." Mello said while he absently rubbed his arm.

"Pancakes?" Matt asked hopefully. Mello sighed in defeat. Ordinarily Mello would have yelled at Matt for picking up boxes of pancake mix, but it really was practical. It could be stored in Ziploc bags and it traveled easily...

"Alright, you've put up with mashed potatoes and the like for the last two days, so I'll make them for you." Matt sent him a large smile and Mello turned away, and into the kitchen. Honestly, the things he did fore the redhead, who knew Mello hated the fluffy creations...

"Add some chocolate chips, you'll enjoy it." Matt called from the living room and it made him smile. How easy they fell into their new routines...

They would have to go on another food run soon, the sooner the better. They shouldn't wait until they were out, though they still had probably two or more weeks left of food, if they made it stretch, before that happened.

He was quick in preparing lunch and put them on paper plates, the dishes going into the sink. They smelled good, though Mello knew he wouldn't like the taste. But he wouldn't waste anymore chocolate on them then the chips.

They ate in silence, side by side, and stared at one of the fuzzed out channels, Matt having switched it for meal time.

"Thanks Mello." Matt kissed his cheek with his sticky syrup covered lips and despite having rolled his eyes, Mello didn't mind. "I'll clean up." Matt said as he took the empty plate from Mello's grasp.

"I think I'll take my shower then." he told the redhead, who was already in the kitchen. Matt mumbled something, though he hadn't quite caught it. Mello unzipped his vest and tossed it into the hamper that was outside of the bathroom.

He shut the bathroom door, but didn't bother to lock it as Matt would probably end up joining him. He stretched again, his muscles having been sore the passed day or so, and pealed off his gloves.

He looked into the mirror and absently touched the scar that marred his face. He froze, and pulled his hand down.

Mello stared at his hand with an unreadable expression. He couldn't process the sight and it was only when the door opened and Matt stood in the doorway did he react; let himself feel fear.

"Mello?" Matt took a step foreword and Mello took one back. It wasn't supposed to be like that...

"I'm sorry." Mello clutched his hand to his chest and backed all the way up until his back was flush against the wall.

"Mello..." Matt still looked confused even as his eyes locked on the clenched hands.

"I'm so sorry Matty." Mello closed his eyes and held out his right hand. He heard Matt's breath catch and couldn't help but feel as though he had let him down.

"Mello-" Matt started to say, as he stepped closer.

"Stop!" Mello yelled; he didn't want Matt near him. Matt wasn't... Matt wasn't infected, right?

"You should stay away from me... I'll stay in the bedroom, so you can have free roam of the rest of the place..."

"Mello-" Matt tried again.

"Please... just do this..." he whispered. He didn't want Matt to get sick. He'd seen the pictures. Read the stories, hell they'd seen it first hand. He didn't want Matt to go through that if at all possible.

He saw the pained expression Matt wore as he backed off, leaving Mello with more than enough room to pass by. Mello supposed that taking a shower was pointless, and would only contaminate things further.

Though the thought did cross his mind that Matt might already have it, probably already had it, but he pushed those thoughts away. If Matt didn't have it, and they did nothing to protect him, then Mello would have as good as killed him himself.

"Disinfect everything, even if I haven't touched it." Mello said as calmly as he could, though he could feel every emotion in him begin to unravel. He was dead. Had been given a death sentence, and his body just hadn't quite caught up with it yet.

He stayed as far from Matt as he could.

"There are the extra blankets in the closet... you shouldn't touch anything I've slept in.." Mello prayed that Matt would be alright. If Matt wasn't showing symptoms yet he should be fine... but Mello knew it varied with each person, the rate it spread was different.

If Matt got sick five days from then, and Mello was on his death bed, Matt could theoretically still die before him, as morbid a thought as it was. Mello hoped his wasn't the kind to linger, he didn't want to do that to Matt, make him sit by while he wasted away slowly.

Mello supposed he could just leave, go to one of the other apartments, go to the streets... but he knew Matt wouldn't let him. Would probably go and look for him. Mello's fists clenched as he stepped into the bedroom.

"Mello just li-"

He shut the door in Matt's face. And locked it. He ignored the pounding on the door and slid down. He pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his head on top. It was going to be a long week. A very long week...

He sat there for hours, with nothing more than his thoughts. What would have happened had the virus, infection, or whatever it was, hadn't fucked the world up? Would they have died anyway, with Kira the ultimate victor? Would Near have won? Would they have?

Mello hated the _what if's_. It made him feel weak, pathetic. And it hurt.

"Mello... I've left you something to eat, as well as the laptop." Matt knocked on the door, and said softly sometime after the sky had grown dark. He hated that Matt wouldn't be able to have the bed, like he was banishing him from the room, but there was no where else to quarantine himself in the tiny apartment.

"Thanks..." he whispered and unlocked the door, though he didn't feel particularly hungry at all. He half expected Matt to still be standing there, waiting for him, but he wasn't. He pulled the items inside, and shut the door again, but didn't lock it.

He trusted Matt not to do something stupid.

Me pulled the things to the middle of the bed, forced himself to eat, and lifted the laptops cover. There was nothing more to do than wait.

Mello hated waiting.

.

.

Three days later, which felt like much longer when you were cooped up in one room, Mello checked the posts again. It was everywhere. There was at least one reported case in all the major countries, the smaller ones following suit.

As for the person who had been posting pictures of themselves with the infection... they hadn't posted anything that day. And they always posted at the same time everyday. Mello knew they were dead, and if not, than they were almost there.

It frustrated Mello, as he was a fighter, that he would die just like that. He wanted to go out, and have it mean something, not just keel over and die in some shit apartment in a city that was quarantined, despite knowing that he had no real choice in the matter... but it just felt too much like giving up.

He sighed and turned on his side as he shut the laptop off. His had less and less will to do anything each day, and he couldn't tell if it was because of the infection, or because he was bored and unhappy.

The rash had spread from his hand and was most of the way up his arm, though it had stopped at his shoulder. He kept it bandaged at all times, like he had with his burns, and he rather felt like a leper.

Mello closed his eyes and his fingers played with the edge of the quilt.

"Thank god!" he heard Matt shout, though Mello didn't feel that there was anything to be particularly thankful for. Though he supposed it was nice to hear Matt's voice, as stupid as it sounded.

Silence had never bothered him before, but when that was all he had... when he wasn't able to be near the one he loved... it bothered him.

He wondered what game Matt was playing, for such a reaction. With a rather twisted grin, he wondered if it was the zombie shooter one. He sighed.

It was cold, but not enough for him to move under the covers. Maybe he had just gotten lazy.

Mello felt the bed dip and turned in surprise only to have lips lock with his own. He stared in horror as Matt looked down at him.

"Are you fucking stupid? I'm infected. I've got it and you just fucking kissed me!" Matt didn't say anything and merely took hold of Mello's un-bandaged hand and guided it under his shirt. Mello's eyes widened and he pushed Matt's shirt up; straining to see his skin in the dark.

"Shit." he murmured.

Matt smiled a little at that exclamation. "I'd say that about covers it. But at least now I can touch you." Mello knew he should be more heartbroken that Matt had it too, that his lovely redhead will die, but now he wasn't alone.

And somehow that meant so much more.

As he lay there, draped across Matt, after what he was sure was their last time, he almost felt happy despite knowing they would die soon.

"Matt, what were you so happy about earlier?" he mumbled tiredly. He felt Matt laugh more than he heard it.

"It doesn't matter, you'd think it was stupid." Matt told him, fingers rubbing gently against his scalp. It relaxed him. But not enough that he would forget about his question, which with Matt's answer, had him even more curious.

"Matt. Tell me." he tried for a forceful voice, but failed. Matt sighed. "Really it's nothing. Just go to sleep." Matt kissed the top of his head and Mello sighed though he didn't bother with any more questions.

He supposed it didn't really matter anyway.

He woke with the sunrise, and the screams that came seemingly from the other room, though that meant it was probably another apartment close by. That in itself was bad unless it was the adjacent complex, at least then the things wouldn't be on the same floor as them.

"Hey." he heard Matt mumble and looked up. The redhead blinked his eyes a few times and yawned before he smiled at him. Every moment they shared now was bitter sweet in Mello's mind, because every moment they shared brought them closer to death.

"Looks like it spread passed your shoulder." Matt said softly as his fingers trailed gently across the infected flesh. Mello shivered at the contact but didn't pull away.

"We'll have to bandage it then. Yours as well." Mello mumbled as he stretched slightly but made no real move to get up, more than comfortable to just lie there.

"Hm... maybe later?" Matt drawled.

Mello shook his head with a laugh, but conceded as he lacked the will to move.

He started at the feel of his hair moving but relaxed as he realized it was just Matt, who had brushed it aside. "You're like a kitten, you know?" Matt told him.

He snorted and glared up at Matt. "It's true, just scratch behind your ear and you practically purr in contentment." as if to prove his point he did just that and Mello had to admit he liked when Matt did it.

"Shut up." he mumbled to the redheads laughter. It was a good sound, Mello decided. He let his eyes fall shut again, and somehow, was able to forget about their problems, if only for a short time.

.

.

It was just over a week later and Matt could feel the exact moment Mello's heart stopped, though he was too far gone to do anything about it. He felt sad, and a tear found its way down his cheek, but mostly he felt tired.

Drained.

Mello had gotten progressively worse the days that followed Matt's infection. The infection had slowly spread it way across more and more of the blonde's skin and portions of his left arm had turned into painful sores which had needed constant changes of bandages.

Matt hadn't been much better off.

By the second day after he'd found that patch of skin on his torso, most of his upper body needed to be bandaged, save his face and part of his neck. The day after it had spread to his legs.

It seemed like his was far more accelerated than Mello's and Matt secretly suspected that he'd gotten it at the same time as Mello, but it just hadn't manifested any symptoms until later on. And maybe it had been better that way.

It had meant he didn't have to wait too long before he joined Mello.

Mello had gotten to the point, in the last day or so, where he could hardly even move, having to be helped to do the simplest of tasks, though he still tried to keep Matt's spirits up.

There was a faint growl, which he supposed had come from Mello. Or what _had been_ Mello.

His own eyes slipped shut, Mello's yellow eyes fading out of existence, and he couldn't move.

He knew his own end would be soon, though the small sliver left of his mind wondered why he hadn't been attacked yet as Mello was most definitely one of the undead now.

It felt like drifting, much like falling into sleep, when it had finally happened.

And then his eyes opened again. Everything was kind of foggy, yellow. He was hungry. He needed to move. He growled at the thing that held him in place and stared at it as it snarled back.

The thing before him wasn't food, his head shifted to the side, it was like him. It was something that must be protected. Sluggish arms slid away from him which allowed them both to gradually stumble to their feet.

The yellow one seemed so familiar somehow. But there wasn't enough left of his mind to process anymore than that.

It didn't really matter, he was not alone, and some primal part of him realized that as long as he was with the yellow one, he would be fine. That everything, would be… fine.

After all, dead is the new alive.

_**-Dead-**_

**AN**: Yeah… no idea where that came from… ok I'm lying. But really... I'm messed up in the head. But at least my fics are always different, right?

But I rather liked the idea of them as zombies. Buwhahahah. So yeah. I killed them. Go me? ^-^;

**Reviews** help Matt and Mello zombies eat, don't you want to feed them?


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